Tennessee Titans officially sign QB Will Levis to rookie contract

The Tennessee Titans have signed second-round draft pick Will Levis to his rookie contract, the team announced on Saturday. Tennessee’s entire rookie class has agreed to terms following Levis’ signing.

According to Spotrac at the time he was drafted, Levis is projected to make around $9.5 million over the course of his four-year rookie contract. He has an estimated $3.9 million signing bonus with a 2023 cap hit of $1.7 million.

Levis spent two seasons at Kentucky before heading to the NFL. After declaring for the draft, he became the most polarizing figure in this year’s cycle after seeing his stats fall across the board between his junior and senior campaigns.

“That bothers me because I’m the head coach. And if we put him in a position, that’s not what we’re looking to do,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said of Levis during SEC Media Days. “So, if you’re just asking me personally, I mean, of course, it doesn’t make you feel good; you want to help all your players and help them in any way that we can.”

In 2021, Levis threw for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. Kentucky finished 10-3 that season and won the Citrus Bowl. Injuries and a lack of talent surrounding him hindered Levis in 2022, which saw UK finish the season 7-6 (Kentucky was 7-4 with Levis as the starter). Levis compiled 2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

Things were going well for UK before Levis’ injuries, beginning the season 4-0 and being ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll. Things fell off the wagon swiftly and Kentucky was forced to play in the Musci City Bowl — which Levis opted not to participate in.

This decline in UK’s season led to Levis falling from being a top-three overall draft choice to being left out of the first round altogether. The Titans felt like they had something with Levis, and promptly traded up to select the former Wildcat with the second pick of the second round.

Whether he ends up playing during the regular season remains unseen, but Levis will likely be the Titans’ primary preseason quarterback and he has all of Big Blue Nation rooting behind him. He’ll get his shot on Aug. 12 when Tennessee travels to Chicago to take on the Bears.

Now, he’s on a team that has the potential to make the playoffs, and there’s no shortage of talent surrounding him. There are no more excuses for Levis to underperform on the field, but the Titans seem confident in his abilities.